God's Window

If anyone has ever wondered what a view worthy of God looks like, the South Africans have actually got it right. God's Window on the Escarpment is truly breathtaking!

Watching the scenery almost brings tears to my eyes, but the true magic of the place can't be made justice in a single photo... or even two. It is surely something that ought not to be experienced on your own, rather with someone's arms around you.

Luckily, when I went there last week, it wasn't my first time... but still!

 

“But still!” has of late become my favourite argument, it works in every situation!... Dare I say, I picked it up from a very determined five year old on one of my tours, she was awesome.

 

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Stuck

Even the most experienced guides make mistakes, and if you're lucky, they do it at the right place and time...

On our first day in Edeni game reserve, Limpopo, we heard on the radio that a couple of lions had been spotted with a kill. Of course we went in search of them and found them in the thickets, exhausted from their first sitting. As we approached they lifted their heads and studied us carefully. After a while they got up to continue their meal. The flies and the stench were almost unbearable, but the lioness couldn't care less as she dug into her waterbuck prey.

There's a common misconception that lions don't like waterbuck because of the oily secretion that protects the skin of this antelope, but this is of course utter nonsense... meat is meat, whatever the flavour. These guys aren't fussy, they can eat rotten meat and will certainly not discard a meal because of unfortunate seasoning.

While watching the lions the guide had the brilliant idea of driving out into an open area, as they probably would make their way past us down to a dam after dinner... and we got desperately stuck! This was not good. Not only were the lions busy feeding 30 m away, but also, in this macho business you don't want to loose face. The guide and tracker tried everything, piling stones under the car, etc, etc... but finally had to admit defeat and radio for help.

Help arrived shortly after... and also got stuck!!! The trackers and drivers now combined their forces but the harder they tried, the more stuck we got and it wasn't until the third car arrived that we saw any real progress. After snapping at least two towing ropes the six experienced men eventually did what some people had suggested from start... and simply pushed the car with combined effort.

This evening a total of five cars got stuck in basically the same place, but what better place to get stuck? The sun was setting and the lions watched us curiously from a short distance, probably a bit amused by the funny two-legged creatures and their inability to move gracefully through the bush.

-So what, that dinner was late that night!?

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Lightning crashes

This summer in South Africa I've found myself caught up in a couple of earth-moving thunderstorms that really rocked my world. When your skin is tingling, the hair all over your body stands on end and you can actually feel the electricity in the air, you're either in love... or lightening just struck dangerously close!

All alone in a tent in the African bush, you realize how tiny you are, as the forces of nature thrashes wildly around you. Storms I've previously experienced pales in comparison, I promise I'm not exaggerating!
 

It started out with wonderful flashes in the distance and the whole group couldn't help but wearily admire its beauty. As night closed in though, the electrical storm came ever closer. For a while I was sure there'd be a bush fire as lightening struck all around in the bush... but then came the rain! A miniature river formed across the wooden floor of my safari tent and I saved most of my things by moving them onto higher ground (the cupboard).

In awe I listened to the thunder, counted the seconds and waited for the inevitable... Four times lightening struck close enough to effect me (as well as the generator) physically and afterwards it was like having a presence hovering in the room. I don't know how I managed, but I actually fell asleep in between the worst strikes, in spite of the severe tension! An hour and a half later, the storm finally passed... and I basically passed out, exhausted and a bit nauseous.

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